Science
The sheer amount of research going on right now in the field
of nanotechnology is unprecedented in more ways than one. It is currently one of the few fields to show
an immense amount of promise for newfangled devices that could be on the market
within the next couple years. It’s also
one of the few times that the entire scientific community has worked together
on a single project. Everyone is
getting involved with the research—Quantum theorists, chemists, mathematicians,
semiconductor device manufacturers, physicists, and engineers. Of course, the idea that they’re all working
together on a single project is simply untrue.
Since science operates on the scientific principle, the field of
nanotechnology is moving slowly but inevitably towards some unknown conclusion.
As it stands, most research is being done at colleges and
universities around the world. The
majority of work is being done in the United States, Germany, Japan, and
China. These are the countries that
have poured large sums of money towards nanotechnology research slated for the
next decade.
To make things simpler, I have grouped together four
different fields that contribute significantly to progress in
nanotechnology. Each plays a key role
in the creation of new devices and materials.
Chemistry is the most important part of nanotechnology
research right now. Without a good
chemistry background we would not be able to synthesize anything. Chemists are also the ones who are good at
characterizing the synthesized material to investigate the structure and
function of each component.
Electronics is one major goal of nanotechnology. For that, we require the knowledge of
Quantum Physicists and Semiconductor specialists. They have designed some of the first ’proof of concepts’ that
nanotechnology can produce functioning devices.
Materials engineers have made significant advancements in
coatings and armor. The infamous ’nano-pants’
are a fairly crude example of how nanotechnology could be loosely used to
enhance certain products. New methods
of metal fabrication may one day yield ultra-strong armor that isn’t thicker
than a calculator.
The unsung heroes of nanotechnology are the theorists and modelers
who develop ways to predict how a piece of nanotechnology will function. Their careful guiding hand has led many
researchers in the right direction.
We’ll cover all four of these scientific principles in the
following section.
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